Paid parental leave becomes law

Working mothers will receive 18 weeks paid parental leave from 1st January 2011.
The Paid Parental Leave Act creating the scheme received assent on 14th July 2010 after first being introduced to the Federal Parliament in May 2010.
The Federal Government's Family Assistance Office will make the payments for the first six months with employers to administer payment from 1st July 2011. Eligible working women will be paid $10,258.20 or $569.90 per week in instalments. Employers wonât be required to pay an instalment until the Family Assistance Office has forwarded them the funds.
Most claimants will be mothers (primary), but itâs also possible for partners (secondary) and in exceptional circumstances a third party who takes over the care of the child (tertiary), to claim under the scheme.
A person is eligible for paid leave if:
⢠They satisfy a work test, and
⢠They satisfy an income test, and
⢠They satisfy a residency test, and
⢠They are the primary carer of the child, and
⢠They havenât returned to work, and
⢠Neither they, their partner nor a former partner was entitled to a baby bonus for the child.
Read the full article, courtesy of the AFEI, at

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